Social Exclusion, Self-Forgiveness, Mindfulness, and Internet Addiction in College Students: a Moderated Mediation Approach

Abstract

Internet addiction is a growingly prevalent behavioral addiction that causes numerous psychosocial problems. Investigating the causes and consequences of Internet addiction is fundamental to comprehend and prevent it. Therefore, the current study provided protective and promotive factors for undesired effects of social exclusion on Internet addiction. The study examined a moderated mediation model to test whether mindfulness moderated the mediating role of self-forgiveness in the association between social exclusion and Internet addiction among young adults. The participants of the present study included 358 undergraduate students attending a state university in Turkey. They ranged in age from 20 to 28 years ( M = 21.89, SD = 1.95). The participants comprised 206 (57.5%) female and 152 (42.5%) male college young adults. Overall, the study findings indicated that self-forgiveness mediated the relationship between social exclusion and Internet addiction, and mindfulness moderated the mediating role of self-forgiveness in this association. Contending with negative outcomes of social exclusion and Internet addiction, and mitigating and buffering roles of self-forgiveness and mindfulness provide important implications to design prevention and intervention services for reducing Internet-related addictive behaviors.

Posting Alcohol-Related Content and Texting Under the Influence Among Hispanic College Students

“…Privacy concerns are also important; as such, posts about drinking alone may be particularly suited for targeting potential problem drinkers due to the likelihood these posts have been publicly shared. During COVID-19, average social media addiction scores similar to those in this study have been reported among college students (Arslan et al, 2021 ), although the amount of time spent on SNS tends to be even greater than that reported in the present study (Zhao & Zhou, 2020 ). That social media use frequency has been associated with adherence to COVID-19 guidelines yet social media addiction is inversely related with adherence (Cooper et al, 2020a , 2020b ) suggests that redirecting college students to seemingly healthier uses of social media (while not crossing into the addictive use range) seems optimal to enhance both individual and public health.…”

Exploring the relationship between social exclusion and smartphone addiction: The mediating roles of loneliness and self-control

“…Previous studies have confirmed that social exclusion is one antecedent of Facebook addiction as well as internet addiction (Poon, 2018;Lim, 2019;Arslan and Coşkun, 2021). Some scholars have also found that social exclusion can positively and significantly predict substance use disorder and other addictive behaviors (Rabinovitz, 2014;Bacon and Engerman, 2018;Wesselmann and Parris, 2021).…”

Social Exclusion and Impulsive Buying among Chinese College Students: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem and the Moderating Role of Risk Preference

“…In China, college students have more disposable money than junior high school students and senior high school students, but the correct concept of consumption has not been fully formed, so the possibility of impulsive buying is also higher. What is more, a large number of previous studies have shown that social exclusion will have a serious and far-reaching negative impact on college students, such as internet addiction [ 3 ] and depression [ 4 ]. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore the relationship between social exclusion and college students’ impulsive buying.…”